Did North Korea Just Blink?

It has become normal practice for Kim Jung Un to conduct a banned nuclear bomb or ballistic missile test on any major North Korean holiday. But today, April 15th is almost over and as yet, the festivities in Pyongyang the birthday of the fat little leader’s grandfather and founder of the North Korean Communist Party, has gone off without any big booms.

This has come as somewhat of a surprise to governments around the world, since intelligence agencies have confirmed that there is an Atomic Bomb that has been loaded and prepped for a test at the testing grounds. Kim has been under mounting pressure from both China and the U.S. To abandon its nuclear program in the interest of world peace. Just Thursday, China’s President Xi announced that his country was stopping flights to the North Korean Capital city and has also stopped importing coal from them.

On Friday Kim was still talking loud and threatening the U.S. And its allies with nuclear attacks, and had invited more than 200 members of the media to witness something big at today’s celebration. But there has been no test, at least not yet. Whether it is in response to China’s pressure, or the fact that there are over 600 Tomahawk missiles and a complete U.S. Carrier task force less than 300 miles from where he is standing, we don’t know.

But maybe it is just a case of him finally waking up to the fact that his mouth has been writing checks his mouth is not prepared to cash. Hopefully, Kim has learned a lesson. That while he may be a big deal in North Korea, he is just a pebble in the road for the rest of the world. He needs all of us, a lot more than any of us need him.

As for Donald Trump who has engaged vigorously with China on the North Korean nuclear issue, he said Pyongyang is a problem that “will be taken care of.” While refusing to specify how and when, Trump has ordered significant military buildup on the Korean Peninsula, sending an “armada” of vessels and promising to act unilaterally if China is unwilling to help. But it would appear that China has told Kim to “Sit Down and Shut up”, at least for the time being.